of BRITISH
COLUMBIA
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First European Wood Fire Conference

By Mary Ann Steggles, Winnipeg, MB

The First European Wood fire Conference took place at Schloss
Brollin, Fahrenwalde, Germany over a four-day period, Sept. 2 to
5. In her opening remarks, Janet Mansfield stated that the adjective
‘European’ was erroneous because this was truly an international event
with its more than 250 attending practitioners, teachers, students, and
collectors from 25 countries around the world. Markus Bohm, the
mastermind behind the conference for kalkspatz e.V. (the German
Potters Association), simply stated that he hoped ‘we would make new
friends.’ It would have been difficult not to. From the moment you
entered the building to sign in, to finding the right size conference
T-shirt to buy in the right colour, to meandering through the book
tables, and finding your accommodation, you knew you were in a
special place. We came to celebrate a tradition that spanned thousands
of years and, despite language barriers, it all worked. As Bohm mused,
‘it is a place where insanity becomes normality.’ Who could imagine
that in the twenty-first century, the 250 of us in this space-time would

prefer growing, cutting, hauling, stacking, splitting and stoking a kiln

Lowell Baker's
sawdust kiln firing.

Pottery display.

with wood for hours or days instead of simply turning a knob?

‘The setting was magical. Surrounded by farmland, Schloss Brollin is
located approximately an hour and a half north of Berlin by train, near
the Polish border. The closest village is Pasewalk, 15 or 20 minutes
away by car. We gathered here amidst the medieval buildings. Pots
were carefully unwrapped for exhibition in the huge timber frame
barn, log-splitting competitions took place, and small experimental
kilns were built. By noon on Friday, no one really cared that their
clothes were permeated with smoke or that their hands or faces had the
occasional soot smudge. It was easy to get lost in the moment.

‘The familiar faces of the international wood-firing scene wandered
about the grounds. Fred Olsen chatted about his castable kiln designs
while Paul Davis amused us with his quick wit and his willingness
to pick up a dish towel if needed. When Masakazu Kusakabe wasn't
admiring the pottery exhibits, he taught us about the tea ceremony or,
at other times, we stood mesmerized watching him create images with
his ink brush which he happily gave to the on looker.

‘The formal conference program had four themes: wood firing and
the environment, an international overview of the trends and research
around the world, wood firing and education and, last but definitely
not least, a panel discussion on the aesthetics of wood firing. Coll
Minogue, Owen Rye, Michal Puszdzynski and Priscilla Mouritsen
described the trends in Ireland, Australia, Poland, and Denmark,

Continued on Page 8, Intriguing presenter

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Potters Guild of BC Newsletter « February 2011 7